by Sara Cooke
Reprinted with permission from Caring Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 1, Winter 1997, a health care magazine from the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center

Living with constant pain is a burden most people fortunately will never have to face. But for millions of Americans with fibromyalgia, pain is a reality that often defines their very existence. Pat Abernathy has been learning to live with and around this pain, and it's not always easy.

"There are some days you do not want to get out of bed," Abernathy says. "There are days when I start to put my feet on the floor and then fall back into bed because I hurt so badly."

Her pain, caused by fibromyalgia syndrome, has put limits on her life that Abernathy never imagined. "I've found that whatever I do, whether it's cleaning the house of working outside, it takes me so much longer because I have to sit and rest every 20 minutes," Abernathy says. "I've had to figure out whether I want to give something up or do it and pay the consequences."

Although her pain is quite real, the cause is not readily apparent. "It's not visible," she explains. "If you looked at me, you would never think there was anything wrong."

But Dr. Geetha Reddy, a rheumatologist at the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center, attests that Abernathy's pain is genuine. For most fibromyalgia patients, the pain may begin in one spot and spread over time. "Patients often come in saying they hurt all over," Dr. Reddy says. "The pain often is to the point of causing interruptions in their daily activities and job descriptions.